Coaches: Sean Payton (61-34 regular season; 4-2 postseason in six seasons, all with the Saints), Ron Rivera (6-9 in first season with Panthers)

TV: Fox-8; Joe Buck play-by-play, Troy Aikman color.

Radio: WWL-870, 105.3.

KEEP AN EYE ON

PANTHERS QB CAM NEWTON

Well, duh, but according to Saints defenders, Newton is a rare, complete package. First, he can run (14 rushing touchdowns this season). "Normally there are a lot of plays where, on defense, you're 11 going on 10 because you don't have to account for the quarterback," linebacker Scott Shanle said. "That's not the case here. It's almost like he creates another gap." In the example Shanle cited, an old school run has the fullback leading a halfback through the hole. One linebacker takes on the fullback, another makes the tackle. But the Panthers can line up their fullback like a wingback and, when the defense adjusts to account for that, the unit is a man short if Newton runs off a play-action fake. In the passing game, Newton's howitzer arm creates problems. Even in the NFL, many quarterbacks can't make all the throws once they break containment, safety Malcolm Jenkins said. That means in most games, safeties can cheat, give up on receivers on the far side and collapse the field toward the quarterback. But because Newton can make the deep throw back across, Jenkins said the secondary has to hold its ground even when Newton is on the move, which creates more space for Newton to exploit once he crosses the line of scrimmage and makes it more likely defenders Newton does encounter have to take him on one on one. And if there is another thing that sets Newton apart, Shanle and Jenkins both said, it is his size. At 6 feet 5, 248 pounds, Newton is an intimidating and difficult man to tackle.

PANTHERS WR STEVE SMITH

This is partly a football judgment, because Smith is a very good receiver who has hurt the Saints in the past. He has eight touchdown catches against New Orleans in his career. During his 11 years in the NFL, Smith has averaged better than six yards after the catch, and New Orleans comes into the game allowing the highest yards after the catch in the NFL. Smith credits rookie quarterback Cam Newton with rejuvenating what appeared to be a career in embers, and Smith, an 11-year veteran, has enjoyed a Pro Bowl season with 73 catches for 1,308 yards and six touchdowns. But what will also bear close watching today is Smith's relationship with the New Orleans secondary because Smith got a nice chunk of his 2011 statistics -- along with a post-TD end zone smash -- when the Saints visited Charlotte, N.C. In that game, Smith had three catches for 79 yards, 54 of which came on a scoring grab that ended with him sauntering in the end zone and taking a blind side late hit from safety Roman Harper. Harper absorbed a $15,000 fine from the league for his message, and Smith is known to be a brash, outspoken sort of player. Taking the safe route, perhaps, Coach Sean Payton and several players insist that sort of thing rarely carries over even though some tension has always existed between Smith and the Saints since they play each other often as division rivals. As might be expected, Payton had nothing but high praise for Smith, whom he coached in the Pro Bowl after the 2006 season. In particular, Payton said that setting gives insight into the things a player brings to the game that don't show up on tape, and Smith's dedication and superb conditioning are what make him "explosive" to this day.

KEY MATCHUP

SAINTS S ROMAN HARPER vs.

CAROLINA TEs JEREMY SHOCKEY and GREG OLSEN

Carolina will rely on its ground attack -- the Panthers are on the cusp of becoming the first team in NFL history with three players rushing for more than 700 yards in a season -- but the reliable tight end tandem has proved the rookie quarterback's best friend. Olsen, acquired in an off-season trade with the Bears, is second on the team with 45 catches for 540 yards and five scores. Shockey, the former Saint, carries a streak of 135 regular-season games played with a reception and has caught 34 passes for 437 yards and four touchdowns. Twice this year, most recently against the Falcons on Dec. 11, each has caught a touchdown pass in a game. Though he will have help, Harper is likely to be the main defender on the pair. "I wouldn't say, 'old times,'" Harper laughed when asked about playing Shockey. "Shock's always good to go up against, he's always teaching me stuff when he was here, and I still use a lot of those tactics today. So it's always a fun matchup with him because he talks and he's, he's just Shockey. Olsen is also a very talented guy. I think Olsen is younger so he probably runs a little bit better than Shockey does now, that's just downfieldwise. But I would also say Shockey is a little bit more savvy in his routes and doing some things like that. They're both big and can run. So you look at them and there's not a lot that's different, and you have to respect both of their games."

"There's a lot of improvement statistically. We try to do a PowerPoint every Wednesday on the things we see with the opponent, and statistically there are a ton of areas that they're playing better than they were the last time we played them. The last time we played them I think we were only three or four games into the season. There's some uniqueness to what they do offensively, certainly it starts with the quarterback and his ability to hurt you with his arm and hurt you with his legs. He's very talented. The players around him are playing exceptionally well. They're doing a better job with the football, so there are a lot of areas where they've improved in, and it showed up when you look at their recent games. I think it's a big test for us." - Sean Payton on the Panthers.